Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Box of the Agreement in the Temple
8 Then King Solomon told all the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of Israel to come together in Jerusalem. Solomon wanted them to join in moving the Box of the Lord’s Agreement from the City of David up to the Temple.
6 The priests carried the Box of the Lord’s Agreement to its proper place inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the Cherub angels.
10 When the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud[a] filled the Lord’s Temple. 11 The priests could not continue their work because the Temple was filled with the Glory of the Lord.
22 Then Solomon stood in front of whole assembly of Israel and faced the Lord’s altar. Solomon spread his hands and looked toward heaven 23 and said,
“Lord, God of Israel, there is no other god like you in heaven or on the earth. You keep the agreement that you made with your people. You are kind and loyal to those who follow you with all their heart. 24 You made a promise to your servant, my father David, and you kept that promise. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you made it come true today. 25 Now, Lord, God of Israel, keep the other promises you made to your servant David, my father. You said, ‘David, if your sons carefully obey me as you did, you will always have someone from your family ruling the people of Israel.’ 26 Again, God of Israel, I ask you to keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David.
27 “But, God, will you really live here with us on the earth? The whole sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you. Certainly this Temple that I built cannot contain you either. 28 But please listen to my prayer and my request. I am your servant, and you are the Lord my God. Hear this prayer that I am praying to you today. 29 In the past you said, ‘I will be honored there.’ So please watch over this Temple, night and day. And please listen to my prayer as I turn toward this Temple and pray to you. 30 And please listen to our prayers in the future when I and your people Israel turn to this place and pray to you. We know that you live in heaven. We ask you to hear our prayer there and forgive us.
41-42 “People from other places will hear about your greatness and your power. They will come from far away to pray at this Temple. 43 From your home in heaven, please listen to their prayers. Please do everything the people from other places ask you. Then they will fear and respect you the same as your people in Israel. Then all people everywhere will know that I built this Temple to honor you.
To the director: On the gittith. A song of praise from the Korah family.
84 Lord All-Powerful, the place where you live is so beautiful!
2 Lord, I cannot wait to enter your Temple.
I am so excited!
Every part of me cries out to be with the Living God.
3 Lord All-Powerful, my King, my God,
even the birds have found a home in your Temple.
They make their nests near your altar,
and there they have their babies.
4 Great blessings belong to those who live at your Temple!
They continue to praise you. Selah
5 Great blessings belong to those who depend on you for strength!
Their heart’s desire is to make the trip to your Temple.
6 They travel through Baca Valley,
which God has made into a place of springs.
Autumn rains form pools of water there.
7 The people travel from town to town[a]
on their way to Zion, where they will meet with God.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, listen to my prayer.
God of Jacob, listen to me. Selah
9 God, watch over the king, our protector.[b]
Be kind to him, the one you have chosen.
10 One day in your Temple is better
than a thousand days anywhere else.
Serving as a guard at the gate of my God’s house is better
than living in the homes of the wicked.
11 The Lord God is our protector and glorious king.[c]
He blesses us with kindness and honor.
The Lord freely gives every good thing
to those who do what is right.
12 Lord All-Powerful,
great blessings belong to those who trust in you!
Wear the Full Armor of God
10 To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.
14 So stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.
19 Also pray for me—that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret truth about the Good News without fear. 20 I have the work of speaking for that Good News, and that is what I am doing now, here in prison. Pray that when I tell people the Good News, I will speak without fear as I should.
56 Those who eat my body and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.
57 “The Father sent me. He lives, and I live because of him. So everyone who eats me will live because of me. 58 I am not like the bread that your ancestors ate. They ate that bread, but they still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said all this while he was teaching in the synagogue in the city of Capernaum.
Many Followers Leave Jesus
60 When Jesus’ followers heard this, many of them said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”
61 Jesus already knew that his followers were complaining about this. So he said, “Is this teaching a problem for you? 62 Then what will you think when you see the Son of Man going up to where he came from? 63 It is the Spirit that gives life. The body is of no value for that. But the things I have told you are from the Spirit, so they give life. 64 But some of you don’t believe.” (Jesus knew the people who did not believe. He knew this from the beginning. And he knew the one who would hand him over to his enemies.) 65 Jesus said, “That is why I said, ‘Anyone the Father does not help to come to me cannot come.’”
66 After Jesus said these things, many of his followers left and stopped following him.
67 Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Do you want to leave too?”
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe in you. We know that you are the Holy One from God.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International